The Sassafras Supper, Farm-to-Table Dining at Exchange Place Living History Farm in Kingsport

The Sassafras Supper, Farm-to-Table Dining at Exchange Place Living History Farm in Kingsport

KINGSPORT, Tenn. – The Exchange Place Living History Farm hosts the Sassafras Supper which spotlights a creative farm-to-table dinner by local chef Nathan Brand 5:30 p.m. Sept. 22 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 161 East Ravine Road in Kingsport.

The dinner supports the Junior Apprentice program and features a keynote talk by award-winning cookbook author Sheri Castle as well as a traditional Appalachian music performed by Katie Hoffman.

People who know food know Sheri Castle. She has published numerous cookbooks, and her The New Southern Garden Cookbook was selected as the 2012 Cookbook of the Year by the Southern Independent Booksellers Association. She is also a former senior food editor for Southern Living magazine.

In addition to her talk at the Sassafras Supper, Castle will also give a couple of short talks at Exchange Place’s annual Fall Folk Arts Festival 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 24. Each will cover a different topic and will contain opportunities for questions from the crowd. Castle will also be available at select times during the Festival (still to be determined) for those who want to meet and talk with her, or purchase a book and have her sign it.

People who know food are learning more and more about Nathan Brand. He has cooked at many fine restaurants across the United States and abroad, and is currently working on bringing his special brand of locally focused, ingredient-driven, no-waste cooking to Northeast Tennessee.

Also at the event, volunteers from Exchange Place will be on hand to talk about the site and the Junior Apprentice program, which unites young people, ages 12 through 18, with a passion for history and community service. As a non-profit, volunteer-run living history farm that interprets antebellum life in rural Northeast Tennessee, Exchange Place is the perfect place for the Junior Apprentices to hone their skills and knowledge by attending workshops and engaging with the public at events and festivals.

Tickets for the Sassafras Supper are $100.

Each ticketholder also receives a one-day free pass to Exchange Place’s Fall Folk Arts Festival (good for either Saturday, Sept. 23 or Sunday, Sept. 24). All profits will go to the Exchange Place Junior Apprentice program.